When a Hedgehog Meets a Fox
by Shax
Summary: Sonic 2 adaption.


WHEN A HEDGEHOG MEETS A FOX 

Series 2 - The Three Tests   
Episode 4 

[Visit Shax's Virtual Den][1]   
[E-mail the author][2]

PROLOGUE: 

Sonic turned himself into a spin-dash ball, and charged. The robot was caught off-guard, and copped the blow right in the face. But E-100 robots were stronger than SWATs. It had a crack down its face, but its beady green eyes continued to stare. Then, both robots attacked. Sonic was smacked across the face by the small three-fingered hand on the end of the first robot's left arm, and the second robot hit him backwards. He couldn't get back up fast enough - both robots aimed their laser rifles at his head. All seemed lost. But then, there was a sound above him. Something approaching. A helicopter? No... It was too small. Sonic recognised it almost instantly. He reached up, and latched on to the hands above him. Then, he was airlifted away from the robots. "Ready for an aerial attack?" Asked Tails the fox, using his two tails as a rotor blade. Sonic grinned. "Let's do it!" The two swooped - Sonic kicked the first robot onto the ground. He did a spin attack and emptied the robot's mechanical guts. Then he whacked the second robot to the ground, sawed off its laser rifle, and used it against the robot. Tails landed, and gave Sonic a high five. "What would I do without you, Tails?" asked Sonic. "You'd probably be dead!" Tails boasted. Sonic grinned. "Hey, do you remember when we first met?" asked Sonic. "It's a little hazy..." replied Tails, thinking hard. "I guess I was young then." Sonic began to think about it, as they took off again and flew out of Robotropolis. All the events which took place began to arrive in his mind yet again. 

CHAPTER ONE: 

The city was dark. Very dark. So was the sky, and the forest. It wasn't night time, however. The sun could not get through. All the smoke. In Mobitropolis, or Robotropolis as it was now referred to, the townspeople were cleaning the streets. Removing all the dried blood from the roads, and the severed limbs from the pathways. Gruesome, yes. But the fate of these people was very humane, compared to the cleaners who removed their corpses. For, now, everything which moved in Robotropolis was covered in a thick layer of metal, and their insides consisted of wires, cogs and gears. Robotization, it was called. A living creature was placed in a small machine, and a beam was switched on. Nobody knew the nature of this strange beam, and nobody could possibly survive a trip into Robotropolis to find out. All anyone knew was that this beam turned creatures into robots, and in a most horrific way. The smoke and pollution was a temporary result from a war. The Great War. The war was short. The royal army didn't really stand a chance. You see, if Robotnik could capture a soldier allied to the king, the troop would immediately be robotized, adding another member to the dark robotic army. The bigger the evil army became, the more easily troops from the other side could be captured. Of course, there were those difficult people every so often, who wouldn't give up for the world. These were the lucky ones - the ones who were blown up. The war ended when the King was thrown into another dimension, and the Acorn dynasty became the Robotnik dynasty. For that was the name of the ruler of the robots. The inventor of the Robotizer, and the evil megalomanic behind the destruction of Mobitroplis. Doctor Ivo Robotnik. As he watched the removal of the dead from his city, the heartless Robotnik laughed. Mocked those who had been defeated. Challanged anyone to oppose him. But he wanted more. So much more. He had one city, but it wasn't enough. His only goal was complete world domination, and one city was simply not enough. He was, quite literally, evil made flesh. The great cloud of pure evil that once hovered over Mobius, compressed and deposited into one body, due to a freak accident far away. Now Robotnik would do anything to rule all. 

He closed the blinds, and turned around. A figure stood in the doorway. Robotnik grinned. "Aah, Silver! Come to hail my genius?" The figure was a robot. It had a body of shined silver steel, and it walked jerkingly. Obviously, it was Robotnik's first attempt at an intelligent basic robot... a robot not formed from another being. It had terrible English, and couldn't move smoothly. However, it was loyal. It was modelled after someone Robotnik knew a long time ago. A hedgehog. His name was Sonic, and he was mainly responsible for Robotnik's own creation. Then, he turned and opposed Ivo, resulting in them crashing on the mainland. Sonic was never heard from again, and Robotnik captured his first city - the capital of Mobius, of all things. This robot was the same shape as Sonic, except a little larger, and some very noticable differences. His name was Silver Sonic. He stumbled into the room, his limbs in need of oiling. "Master." he said, emotionlessly. "City is dominated. Ruler you are. King. Self is glad to be humble servent." Robotnik grinned. "Yes. My very first city. I heard some of the previous inhabitants refer to it as 'Robotropolis'. I like it! See to it that a sign is erected to replace the boring 'Mobitropolis' logo, will you?" Silver nodded. Robotnik sat down, and put his feet up. "Any news?" he asked. "How is the new android coming along?" Robotnik was in the process of having an android built. 'Packbell' he called him. "Construction underway. Problems nil." replied Silver. "And the robotization? Is it complete?" Robotnik asked. Silver shook his head. "We had an escape today." he replied. "A rabbit. Quick. Dangerous. Strange accent. Robotization incomplete - torso arm and head still flesh." Robotnik raised an eyebrow. "Still has free will." Silver continued. Robotnik sighed. "I NEED MORE WORKERS!" he shouted. "See to it that nobody else escapes. It was bad enough when the princess got away." Silver took another step towards Robotnik. "Why you need more robots?" he asked. Robotnik glared at him. "What kind of question was that?" Silver stepped back, intimidated. "We have more than enough workers to run Robotropolis." he replied. Robotnik swivelled his chair to face the window again, and opened the blinds. "I am going to build something." he said. "To take over this blasted planet, I shall need to expand my empire. Take over more cities. That is a big job. So, I have just finished the schematics for my next robotic masterpiece. The Death Egg." 

There was a sigh, and the figure stumbled foward. He walked clumbsily through the forest, mourning. Not the death of a loved one, but the death of his past. He was far from home. He once lived on an island. South Island. But that was ancient history, now. His home was on the mainland. After he arrived, he took residence in Mobitropolis. But he hadn't been there in a very long time. And after the sounds began, he knew he wouldn't be able to go back, anyway. In the distance, he could hear bombs dropping, guns firing, people dying... But now, it had all stopped. It had been about a year, he thought. But it all ended abruptly, with one loud blast. Now, he was going back to inspect the damage. Another past destroyed. But there were noises in the forest. People. Hopefully the survivors, not the enemy. He walked along the thin forest track, and stared through the trees. A small village. He could see refugees lining up outside, a squirrel was marking them off, like in a customs office. He squinted. Was that squrrel.... Princess Sally? No, it couldn't be. She was royalty, what was she doing in the forest? He ran down to the forest floor, and entered the village. He heard someone behind him. "HEY! HEDGEHOG!" He turned. A walrus with a cap was running up to him. "I haven't seen you around!" he shouted. "Have you been checked off by the Princess?" He shook his head. The walrus took out a notebook. "No worries." he said. "I can check ya' in. Uh, name?" The hedgehog scratched the back of his neck, puzzled. "Uh, Sonic. Sonic Hedgehog." The walrus scribbled something down, and grinned. "Nice to meet you, Sonic! I'm Rotor." he said. He reached out his hand, and Sonic shook it. Rotor turned back to his notebook. "Date of refuge from Mobitropolis?" he asked. Sonic looked around. "Uh, I'm not really from Mobitropolis. Well, I am, but..." Rotor looked up at him. "Well, I'm sorry, we only take refugees from Mobitropolis." Sonic looked around again. "Where is this?" he asked. Rotor grinned, proudly. "This, my friend, is Knothole! The first Freedom Fighter village!" "Freedom Fighters?" Sonic asked. "Yep." replied Rotor. "We fight against Robotnik." Sonic jumped back, startled. "Robotnik??" Rotor was surprised. "Yeah, the royal military guy. He started the war, you know." Sonic put a hand on his forehead. "Oh no!" he exclaimed. "I thought for a while that he was going good!" Rotor put a hand on his shoulder. "We all thought he was good, Sonic." he said. "He decieved us all." Sonic looked down sadly. "Is anything left of Mobitropolis?" he asked. Rotor shook his head. "It's all been claimed by Robotnik... we call it Robotropolis now." Sonic looked around. He decided he may have to stay in this village for a while, if his flat in Mobitropolis was gone. He hoped he wouldn't be an outcast. 

"Oil Refineries set up." Silver announced. "Now waiting command from us." "GOOD!" Robotnik shouted. "Begin extracting petroleum, and ship it here IMMEDIATELY. If the ship is to run, we shall need a lot of oil." Silver nodded, and left the building. Robotnik looked out the window. Just outside was some sort of massive construction. Robotized mobians swarmed all over it, fixing it up. It had been seven months since Robotnik took the city, and he already had constructed a battleship which was almost as massive as the city itself. The Death Egg. The Death Egg was like an arcology - a city inside a city. Except this city could float, and bomb other cities. And on its side, to remind its victims of its creator, was an image of Robotnik's own smirking face. "One question remains.." Robotnik muttered to himself. "Will simple fuel be enough to power my massive creation, or will I need something more powerful?" 

Sonic sat inside his crude hut, as he had done for the past seven months. The usual refugees entered the village - all wanderers in the forest, after the exile of Mobitropolis. The village was growing quite significantly. Princess Sally Acorn was its leader - she was once a pampered sweet princess like those in fairy tales, but she now had to revert to the leader of a band of poor refugees in the middle of a forest. Quite frankly, Sonic didn't think she could do it. She seemed to be under a massive amount of stress. Sonic stared out the window, thinking. His life was a complete schemozzle. He was originally born on South Island, apparently an orphan, for he never saw his parents. He grew up on that island for the best part of his life so far, but then things began to go wrong... Due to a freak accident caused by him and a friendly alien he had met, a creature was created - an evil twisted man known as Robotnik. Eventually, Sonic had thwarted Robotnik's plans, but, in the process, he had paid the ultimate price for his actions. He became stranded on the mainland, away from everyone he knew, away from his best friend Amy, away from his home... He took up residence in Mobitropolis, but didn't stay there much. He usually went out to the Great Forest, contemplating life. When he heard the war start, he fled, and didn't come back at all. Now everything had changed. He sat up, and looked out the window. He could hear the sound of sobbing. Looking closer, he noticed a small animal, only very young, sitting and crying. It appeared to be a fox... he was a bright orange colour. Sonic went outside to meet him. "Hey, little guy!" he said. The fox didn't look up. Sonic took pity on him. "Aaw, come on! Don't cry!" he said. The fox looked up at him. "I have to cry." he replied. "Why?" asked Sonic. "Because my parents are DEAD!" the fox cried. "I.. I can't stand the pain!" Sonic sighed. "My parents are dead too, you know." The fox seemed to calm down a little. "They are?" "Yeah." replied Sonic. "Actually, I never knew them. They just dumped me on some island, and I had to grow up on my own." "What's your name?" asked the fox, wiping his eyes. "Sonic." replied Sonic. "Sonic Hedgehog. What's yours?" "Miles." replied the fox. "Miles Prower. Although my friends call me Tails." "Why's that?" asked Sonic. Miles stood up. He had not one, but _two_ tails attached to his rear end. Sonic nearly jumped out of his skin! "Holy shemoli!" he exclaimed. "How'd that happen?" Tails began to sob again. "I know.. I'm a freak." he said. Sonic grinned. "Think so?" he asked. "Ever seen a hedgehog with fused spines and blue skin?" Tails giggled. "Guess not!" "We're just special." Sonic reassured him. "And you wanna know something else?" "What?" Tails asked. Sonic stood up, and ran down through Knothole at 200km/h! Then he ran back, and sat down. "NEAT-O!" Tails yelled. "I can do something, too!" He suddenly began to spin his tails like a rotor blade. And he _actually took off_ like a helicopter! Sonic, and a few other villagers, just stared, until Tails sat back down. "COO-OO-OOL!" Sonic exclaimed. "Wow, you've got quite a few tricks up your sleeve!" Tails giggled. "You too!" "I can tell we're both going to enjoy living here!" said Sonic. 

CHAPTER TWO: 

"What do you suppose it is?" asked Sally. Rotor shook his head. "First, Mobitropolis is overthrown, now this. What is that thing?" they stared out of the forest, down to Robotropolis. In the center of the city was a giant egg-shaped metal object. On the front was the likeness of Robotnik's own face. "A statue?" suggested Rotor. "Maybe he's erecting some sort of monument in his honor." "Shh." hushed Sally. "I think something's happening..." 

Dr. Robotnik approached the loudspeaker. He was standing on the balcony. The balcony which King Acorn used to speak to his people. Now it was Robotnik's, and he could use it as he wished. He had a clear view of the giant 'Death Egg', and Silver Sonic commanding the poor robotized animals. Silver looked up, and saw his master. "CONSTRUCTION COMPLETE" he yelled. "AWAITING LAUNCH. AWAITING ORDERS." Robotnik grinned. "The moment of truth." he snarled to himself. "LAUNCH THE EGG!" Silver turned to the robots. "Launch the Egg." he commanded. "LAUNCH THE EGG! LAUNCH THE EGG! LAUNCH THE EGG!" Chanting started up amongst the robots. A turning platform slowly rotated the ship clockwise, and raised it several feet into the air. "LAUNCH THE EGG! LAUNCH THE EGG!" There was a tremendous noise as the fuel was burned, and the rockets roared to life. "LAUNCH THE EGG! LAUNCH THE EGG!" The giant battle-station slowly began to lift its tremendous weight off the ground. This thing was fearsome... Even Robotnik himself shivered slightly as he saw it lift off the ground. But it was partly a shiver of delight.. just the thought of using this creation to bring cities and kingdoms to their knees.. to bring a complete genocide apon Mobius, and transform everyone into robots. There was a steaming sound, and the Death Egg halted it's ascent... and then began to come back to the ground again. Worker robots scrambled for cover.. the giant warship crashed at full speed into the launch pad, crushing about twenty robots, and creating an impact crater. Robotnik held onto the windowframe for support, as a mild earthquake ripped through Robotropolis. When things were stable, he grabbed his megaphone. "WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO MY DEATH EGG?" he demanded. 

Silver looked shocked and surprised. "Uhh... major mis-calculation.. not enough raw fuel to lift massive weight... uh, suggestion - raise fuel tank capacity to seven hundred and fifty-nine tonnes.. uh, minimum space needed, another nine hundred and forty-nine square metres.." Robotnik thought about it. "It appears my suspicions are correct.." he said. "Petroleum is not sufficiant.. re-fuelling would be repeditive and constant... Is there any other more powerful fuels the Egg can run off?" Silver made a few quick calculations. "Uranium, sir. Nuclear energy efficiant and powerful.. reserves few and far between.." Robotnik frowned. "Mobius contains a very powerful resource.." he said, beginning to think. "It is called 'emerald'. Rare as anything, but it is so powerful that it can run Robotropolis for four years per gram... if I could get a hold of some..." "Emerald almost non-existant." reminded Silver. "Very few known sources.. none of them local." "I know of some." said Robotnik. "On a little island named South Island. My birthplace. It was from those emeralds that I derived my evil tendancies.." "Very good, sir." replied Silver. "With enough of that resource, Death Egg will run.. forever." Robotnik chuckled. "Silver, send the Wing Fortress due southeast from Robotropolis. Search for the island, and any traces of emerald on it." he pressed a button, and the balcony dropped to the ground like an elevator. Silver approached him, as he pulled out a map. "The island is here." he said, pointing. "Meanwhile, I want you to send out mining operations here, here, and here." he pointed to spots on the shores of the mainland. "Emerald has also been found in small traces in these places.. if, for some reason, we cannot recover emerald from the island, this will work as a backup plan." Silver began to walk away, but Robotnik stopped him. "One more thing.." he said. "You can shut down all the oil extraction operations. We don't need the petroleum, any more." "Very well." replied Silver. 

Sally and Rotor were lost for words. First, Robotnik's construction began to take off, then it crashed back into the city. "Rote, do you have any idea what will happen if that thing takes off?" Rotor replied with a rather unnerving noise, running a finger across his neck. "There are obviously problems with it, though, otherwise it wouldn't have crashed." Sally nodded. "We must stop this at ALL costs." she spotted Silver walking around in the city. "Shh.. get down.. it's Silver Sonic!" Sally warned. When the robot left, the two trodded back to Knothole. "I'll send some spies in there tonight to find out what they're plotting." Sally said. 

Sonic opened his door, and saw all the villagers were walking towards the village ampitheatre. "What's happening?" he asked. One of the villagers propped his head up. "Village meeting." he announced. "Princess Sally says that everyone has to attend!" Sonic walked outside his hut, and began to move into the gathering crowd. After a while, Sally approached the stand, holding a megaphone. She silenced everyone with a hand signal. "You all know that the Great War has finally come to an end." she said. There was a slight mumbling in the crowd. Sally began to speak again. "But our struggles have only just begun." she continued. "This war will not be entirely over, until Robotnik has fallen from his throne! As long as he controls our city, no Mobian will _ever_ be safe! No Mobian will _ever_ be happy! For he will _not_ stop with Mobitropolis... Right now, he is planning evil plans, and building a machine, which will help him achieve his _ultimate_ goal.. TOTAL MOBIAN DOMINATION!" This caused a large fuss within the crowd.. a lot of worried voices, imagining what their planet would be like under the control of an evil maniac. "I sent three of our spies into Robotropolis last night." Sally shouted, over the mumbling. "They will tell you themselves about what they heard." Three villagers approached the stand. Sonic only knew one of them - Rotor. The second was a Rabbit, and she seemed to be half-robotized. (And not very happy about it). The third looked like a guard, possibly a former employee of King Acorn. Rotor took the megaphone, and cleared his throat. "Robotnik is building a machine which he calls the 'Death Egg'." he said. "You all felt that tremor yesterday? That was caused by the sheer weight of the Death Egg hitting the ground after a test run!" This unnerved the villagers. The rabbit spoke into the megaphone. "They're tryin' tah find a new fuel fer thah ship!" she said. "And zey're sending a tranzport zhip to find ze fuel!" the guard said. Rotor took the speaker again. "We MUST NOT allow Robotnik to recover this new fuel, for if the Death Egg takes off, we may not be able to stop it. That is why we need to intercept Robotnik's transport. He has already left the mainland to find it, so the time for intercept will be on the way back from wherever they are travelling to. Time is crucial." 

Sally began to make her way through the crowd. "Anybody who can fly, I want you to walk over to my left. She announced. Most of the villagers moved to her right, and a few Eagles and birds moved to her left. Hesitantly, Tails Prower waddled over to her left. Sally turned and motioned to Rotor to walk over. "You'd better inform the flyers about the mission." she said. Rotor nodded, and gathered the flyers around him. Sally turned to walk away, but spotted Sonic standing there. She stood and stared at him for a while. "Have I met you before?" she asked. Sonic looked at her. "No..not personally." Sally turned to the half-robotic rabbit. "Hey Bunnie.. does this hedgehog remind you of someone?" she asked. The rabbit walked up to her, and stared at Sonic. "Well, ah dunno, but ah kinda' think he looks a little like Silvah Sonic!" "You're right!" replied Sally. "You! Is there any reason for your close resemblance with Silver Sonic?" Sonic shook his head. "I don't know who that is.." he replied. "Robotnik's right-hand advisor and lead assassin." replied Sally. "He's a robot." Sonic sighed. "Coincidence, I suppose." he said. Sally shrugged, and walked off. Later, she looked back at Sonic, just standing in the crowd. "Keep an eye on that one." she whispered in Bunnie's ear. 

CHAPTER THREE: 

A shadow draped over the ground. A large shape appeared in the sky. Held up by several hundred propellors and rotor blades. Robotnik's travelling base, the Wing Fortress. In the pilot seat was Silver Sonic. He picked up a two-way radio, and clicked the button. "Mission successful." he said. "Emerald has been recovered. Seven of them." Robotnik let out an evil laugh. "EXCELLENT!" he shouted. "Then we no longer need our mining operations or search squadrons! The time is now! THE LAUNCH OF THE DEATH EGG!!" Silver put away the radio, and looked out the windscreen. What was that on the horizon? It was approaching them. Silver pressed a button on the console. "Clucker figters. Report to posts. Object and\or enemies approaching. Ready yourselves." All over the ship, robots resembling chickens appeared, each one seated in a weapon like a gattling gun. Silence ruled for a while, then the attack hit. A giant falcon flew over the ship, and dropped a small bomb onto one of the rotor blades. Clucker fighters aimed upwards, and sent chains of bullets towards the invader. But another bird, and another, and another approached. They dropped bombs on the robots, blowing them out of the sky, and onto the propellers, disabling the ship's course. Tails the Fox was one of the attackers, dropping bombs in every direction. Meanwhile, more Freedom Fighters latched onto the bottom of the ship, searching for the cargo hold. "We'll have to break it open, and dump whatever they're carrying!" shouted an eagle. They latched bombs onto the bottom of the ship, and set the timers going. They flew around the ship, and called out to their comerades. "THE STAGE IS SET!" the eagle shouted. "LET'S GET OUTTA HERE!" The attackers left, and Silver picked up his radio. "Dr. Robotnik. The fortress has been penetrated. Rebels are fighting against us. Clucker fighters seem to have them under control." Robotnik growled at him. "They must not succeed! I want those emeralds!" There was the sound of an explosion, and Silver's cockpit rocked around. "WHAT WAS THAT?" demanded Robotnik. "Self does not know." replied Silver. "Beginning search for damage..." there was a silence. "Well?" asked Robotnik. "Cargo bay has recieved a deadly blow." replied Silver. "Cargo may be lost..." 

Tails and the others watched as smoke poared out the bottom of the Wing Fortress. "Where's the cargo?" asked one of the birds. they couldn't see anything coming out. "Maybe we blew the wrong spot." suggested a falcon. "D*** it." said an eagle. "In that case, Robotnik'll have one heck of an advantage over the Freedom Fighters." as he spoke, seven small dots appeared in the sky. Points of light. Each one had a coloured misty stream, like the tail of a comet, coming from their backs. Each light was a different colour. One green, one mouve, one light blue, one dark blue, one red, one orange and one dark grey. They fell all over the place, in random places. 

"You lost the emeralds." Robotnik growled through his teeth. Silver, intimidated, hunched back in the corner of the room. "Creatures... must have been spying on us.. already had plans." he muttered. "I need that substance, Silver!" Robotnik demanded. "And rebels or no rebels, I _always_ get what I want! I want you to put out a search for the emeralds IMMEDIATELY! In the meantime, begin the mining operations again. The Egg will launch by the end of the week. Dismissed." Silver nodded, and marched out of the room. 

Sonic was tossing and turning all night. He couldn't get to sleep, after the supposed failure of the Freedom Fighter aerial attack force that day. If Robotnik launched the Death Egg, there would be no stopping him. He would continue to push, until he controlled the whole of Mobius. Then what? Sonic thought about what it would be like. Although, he would probably be a robot by then. He would lose his free will, and be controlled entirely by the software implanted in his brain. He opened his eyes, and caught a glow. It luminated his hut in a faint blue light. He got up, and searched for the source. He couldn't find it anywhere. He looked at his wristwatch. 1:00 AM. He opened the door, and looked around. He caught a glint of blue in the corner of his eye. He walked out into the cold air, out into the forest, and headed towards the glow. It was a strange, kind of eerie luminescence. Finally, he reached it. It was so bright he could hardly look at it. He grabbed a stick, and poked it. It was something solid. He touched the end of the stick. It was cold. Seemed safe enough. He reached for the object, and touched it with his gloved hand. It felt cold and glassy. He picked it up and, strangely, the brightness seemed to dim down. He passed it from one hand to the other, then back again. It was a piercingly familiar object, but Sonic just couldn't tell... but wait... yes... memories came back to him of Dr. Kintobor.. of the ROCC machine.. This was Kintobor's means of sucking the evil off Mobius! This was a Chaos Emerald! As he stared hypnotically at the glowing emerald, a figure approached him from behind... 

"Sonic?" Tails asked. Sonic turned around. "Oh, hey Tails!" he said. "What are you doing up?" Tails asked with a yawn. "I found this!" replied Sonic, holding up the emerald. Tails stared at it. "What is it?" he asked. "It's called a 'chaos emerald'." replied Sonic. "And what's it doing here?" Tails inquired. "Dunno.." replied Sonic. "It shouldn't even be on this continent!" Tails yawned again, followed by Sonic. "I'll look at it in the morning." Sonic said, walking back to his hut. As he went, the emerald seemed to glow more brightly.. then suddenly Sonic stopped and snapped erect. "West?" he asked. "Huh?" asked Tails. Sonic loosened up, and began walking again. "Uh, nothing, doesn't matter." he replied. Tails walked in another direction, towards his own hut. Sonic walked inside his home and put the emerald on his small bookshelf. He layed in bed, staring at it. "Why did you tell me to go west?" he queried. Of course, the emerald didn't answer. It just sat there, glowing brightly. It had a very satisfied look, if that's possible. Eventually, the need to sleep overpowered Sonic, and he nodded off. 

Sonic awoke the next morning with a knock on his door. Stretching, he got up to open the door. The little fox Tails stood there. "Sorry to wake you." he said. "No prob!" replied Sonic. Tails stared inside, at the emerald, which still stood on Sonic's dresser. "That thing you found last night.." he began "I think it fell off Robotnik's battleship." "Huh?" asked Sonic. "The emerald? What's Robotnik doing with it?" "It's the exact same colour as some things that came out of his ship, during the attack." Tails repeated. "I'm sure of it.. it's exactly the same!" Sonic thought about it. Was it possible for Robotnik to use Chaos Emeralds to fuel his Death Egg? The emeralds were extremely powerful.. he'd never thought of using them for anything but what Kintobor used them for. And if these had fallen from the Wing Fortress, it meant that the attack had been successful! "You might wanna tell Sally about this." Tails said. Sonic nodded, and left the hut. 

Sally stood up and clapped her hands. The people around the table fell quiet, and listened to her. "Uh, good evening everyone, thank you for coming to the meeting this morning." she said. Six people sat at the table, Sally, Sonic, Bunnie, Rotor, and two villagers that Sonic didn't recognise. Sally had called a meeting of the most important villagers in Knothole, and Sonic was invited to speak about his findings. "We have a lot to get through, today." Sally reported "But the most important things first... It seems one of our recruits has something to say about our attack yesterday. Mr. Hedgehog?" Sonic stood up and cleared his throat. He enjoyed being referred to as 'Mr. Hedgehog', and it gave him strength to speak. "Ok, well, I found this in the forest last night." he said, holding up the emerald. "It's called a 'Chaos Emerald', and I think it's what Robotnik was recovering, as fuel for his Death Egg." This caused a lot of mumbling, and Rotor held up his hand to speak. "Does this mean that Robotnik's shipment was indeed intercepted yesterday?" "I think so." replied Sonic. "Tails Prower was part of the attack force, and he said that there were seven points of light falling from the Wing Fortress. Well, there are seven Chaos Emeralds, so I'd say that the mission was a complete success!" Sally raised her hand to speak. "Do we know where the other six are?" she asked. "Well, no.." replied Sonic. "I think the explosion hurled them all over the place, they could be anywhere." "Great." muttered Sally. Robotnik's probably out looking for them right this minute! We have to act fast, to recover them all. Sally immediately left the room to call a search party, and the rest of the people left also. Sonic suddenly had a strange feeling in his mind. "WEST" it seemed to say. "What do you mean?" Sonic asked himself. He looked down at the emerald, which was glowing a cool blue. He walked out of the hut, staring at the emerald, as if reading a map. He had a strange compelling to go west, so he did. Tails walked up to him and tapped him on the shoulder. "What'cha doing?" he asked. "I have this strange feeling.." Sonic replied. "I think the emerald is telling me to go somewhere.. I'm just following it." Tails looked in the direction he was walking. "This is the shortest way out of the Great Forest." he said. "To the west, there's just fields and plains and parks." Sonic shrugged. "Maybe there's another emerald there." 

An army of robots emerged from Robotropolis. In their lead was Silver Sonic and Robotnik, who were driving a giant red vehicle. Robotnik's console had a radar system that homed in on power sources. He wanted those emeralds back, so he decided to look for them himself, followed by a search party consisting of just about every robotized animal in Robotropolis. 

CHAPTER FOUR: 

Sonic suddenly got a jolt through his body. "It's... nearby..." he said. He looked up, and saw a park, complete with palm trees and flowers. There was a sign... "Emerald Hill Nature Reserve" Sonic snickered "Emerald Hill.. that's appropriate!" He walked five steps into the reserve, when he was hit on the head with something! "OUCH!" he shouted. He looked down. It was a coconut. But he wasn't anywhere near a tree! He looked around, trying to find the culprit. There, on the nearest palm tree, something was scrounging around, searching for something. It was throwing coconuts in every direction. Sonic squinted. Could it be... a robot? "Tails, is that a robot?" he asked. Tails nodded. "A robotized monkey." he added. "Dunno what he's doing here.." Suddenly, Sonic was hit with a thought. Did Robotnik have a way of locating the emeralds? If so, he could be here as well, searching... "I'm going to knock that fat maniac down!" Sonic blurted out, suddenly. "Huh?" asked Tails. Sonic found himself frowning. All the rage he had bottled up about Robotnik.. it was emerging. Just the thought of Robotnik trying to take over Mobius.. destroying Mobitropolis.. massacring the inhabitants, and forcing them to work for him, and in such a horrible way. He COULDN'T let Robotnik have the Chaos Emeralds.. it would mean doom. "The hunt begins." he told Tails. "We have one emerald.. we need seven. I dunno much about these things, but I know that, if even ONE of these things is taken by Robotnik, the Death Egg can be launched.. and then we'll have a hell of a time trying to stop it." 

Silver Sonic stepped out of the shining red vehicle, and looked around. "Self shall search alone." he reported. "Self can feel a power source.. Casino City.. to the north. Matches description. Emerald. Splitting up shall assist you in your goal of collecting all emeralds." Robotnik nodded. "Very well.. if you think you can locate them alone." Silver saluted, turned, and used his shoe-rockets to blast into the sky. Robotnik commanded the robots to follow him. 

Sonic used the power of the blue emerald to attempt to locate another emerald. Tails toddled nervously behind. Suddenly, his sharp fox eyes noticed a faint glow in the ground. "Sonic.. look.." he said. Sonic turned around, and stared into the ground. There, half-buried from the impact, was a green Chaos Emerald. "Yes!" shouted Sonic. "Yess! This is it! Good work, Tails!" He dug around the emerald, until he could pull it out. "Halt! You two!" came a voice. The two turned, and saw a massive red vehicle approaching. "R..Robotnik.." Tails stuttered. Sonic's heart sank. This was not the first time he had met Robotnik, but the massive round face of this evil creature still frightened him. Robotnik scowled down at him, and the two emeralds he was holding. "Well well well..." he muttered. "Sonic the Hedgehog. How did you get off South Island? Oh yes.. the crash.. I should have known." he pressed a button on his console, and all the robotized monkeys dropped from their trees, and began to approach. "You will surrender the emeralds." he said. "Both of them. If you know what's good for you." 

The next instant saw Sonic running. Away from Robotnik, away from Tails, away from Emerald Hill... He ran as fast as his legs would take him (Which is very fast), barely clutching the two emeralds. He wasn't thinking.. he was letting instincts take over. He didn't want to deal with it again.. Robotnik's evil mind.. he didn't want to be anywhere near it. He had defeated Ivo once before, on his homeland of South Island, and he had all his friends fooled.. he had Amy fooled. Everyone thought of him as a hero, but he never had been. He was always a fool.. a coward.. he showed off his running abilities, but that was only a physical trait. He was always slow at heart.. his legs slipped from under him, and he tumbled down a steep hill. He turned into an in-voluntary spin-dash, and gained speed until he came to a stone wall, and then he bashed right through it, sending a mass of debris, and him sprawled on the ground. 

It took a while for Silver Sonic's eyes to adjust, as he burst out of the hillside. He had been travelling underground for the most part, and the red slit above his nose which served as his eyes was slow to accept the sudden light. He looked around.. a massive city was before him. He checked his radar.. he was about fifty kilometers from Robotropolis. He looked up again at the city. So, this was Casino City... Casino City (Also known as Twinkle Park) was just that - one massive casino. At night, it resembled Las Vegas, with its incredibly brilliant neon lights. In fact, the massive Chemical Plant, which covered the majority of the eastern boundry of the city, was primarily used for refining the neon element, and selling it to the casinos for a profit. It was also used for creating a highly poisonous substance referred to as 'Mega Mack' (Which, in extremely trace quantities, was used as a more effective substitute for alcohol). Silver scanned the city. He found that there were in fact _two_ Chaos Emeralds nearby. Being unable to grin, with no flexibility on his iron face, he let out an ugly digital BEEP, which was his excuse for a laugh. He started his foot-rockets, and blasted his way towards the city. 

Sonic got up, and began to walk around. He wasn't paying much attention to his surroundings, he just stared into the blue Chaos Emerald, and thought. Tails, who had persued him, landed almost un-noticed beside him. "Nice getaway, Sonic." he said. Sonic jumped a little at the sudden sound.. he hadn't been paying any attention to his ears for at least fifteen minutes. "I can't do this." he muttered, hypnotically staring into the emerald, at his equally blue reflection. "I've been living a lie.. I'm no hero.. I should have gotten Sally to do this." Tails put a comforting hand on Sonic's shoulder. "You know, Sonic, heros aren't born" he said "They're made." Sonic looked up at him. "Tails, I'm sorry you got dragged into this." he said. Tails shrugged. "No problemo!" he replied. "I'm enjoying it!" he looked around. "Uh.. one question remains." he said. "....Where are we?" Sonic looked at him, and then to his surroundings. "Uhm..." he replied. Thick jungle surrounded them, and giant stone pillars stood up everywhere, many of them broken, and most of them submerged in a massive lake. "Some sort of aquatic ruin." Sonic said. Tails shrugged. "Wherever we are, we'd better get outta here real quick, or 'botnik's gonna have our hides.." "Robotnik!" Sonic said suddenly. "I forgot!... what happened?" Tails shook his head. "He seemed pretty darn angry when you took off running.. he expected you to fight him, I guess.." Sonic put his head down again. "Yeah.. blue spikey chicken." he said. Tails frowned. "Sometimes it takes more courage to turn and walk away, than it does to fight." he said. "I know, lil' bro!" replied Sonic. "But I'm gonna have to fight him eventually! The Giant Egg, or whatever he calls it, isn't going to be destroyed by me walking away from it!" Tails nodded. "So where is he now?" asked Sonic. "In persuit." replied Tails. "I looked back, and saw the wheels and stuff falling off his car, and rotor blades coming outta the top. Then he elevated, the blades vanished, and he transformed it into some sorta hovercraft.." "The Egg-O-Matic." Sonic grumbled. "I can't believe he re-built that stupid-looking thing." "He wants your emeralds bad, Sonic." Tails warned. "I suggest we lose him, post-haste... he's probably got us on radar, or something." Sonic nodded. "Okay, lets go!" No sooner had he said that, than the ledge under him crumbled, and he was thrown into the lake. Tails immediately spun his tails, and floated above the water. Being unable to swim, he had to be very careful near such deep water.. his thoughts turned to Sonic, as he stared into the crystal water. It was very deep, and Sonic had been under for quite a while... 

Sonic was under the water for several seconds before he realised what happened.. it happened so fast. He looked below him.. nothing but murkiness. This was a very deep lake. He reached out, and grabbed hold of something. It was a construction, made of marble. Part of a building.. before it sank. He noticed bubbles emerging from the cracks in the stone. He put his mouth to one of the cracks, and breathed in. The air was stale, and the gap was small, but he managed to regain his breath. After all the air had seeped out, the building would be full of water. The air had survived this long, so it must have been a huge construction. Sonic wondered briefly who made this place. It wouldn't have been echidnas.. Sonic had heard a lot about the echidnas. They were supposed to be an extinct race. He doubted they had built this city, though, as they weren't native to these parts, and all known echidna ruins were on small islands. His head broke the surface, and he gasped a deep breath. Tails jumped back. "Sonic!" he exclaimed. "I began to worry.." "Don't worry, lil' bro!" replied Sonic. "Been swimming heaps o' times! I know where to get air underwater, if I need it. Well.. most of the time.." He began to hop out, when he stopped suddenly, and looked back into the water. "The emeralds!" he exlaimed. "Geez, I must have dropped them!" And with that, before Tails could protest, he jumped back into the water. 

Robotnik peered into the gully from his Egg-o-Matic. He could see a few marble constructs. He gave the signal, and his robot army came over the hill, and entered the small jungle. "You will not escape this time, Sonic." he warned, silently. "I have an entire city at my hands, now.. you will never be able to stand up to my power." 

Sonic kicked his feet behind him, searching through the crystal-clear water for the emeralds. He could see a green glow somewhere to his left, and something blue to his right. He swam towards the green, and reached out and grabbed it. The warmth of the emerald felt good in the freezing lake. He turned towards he blue. Where was it? He looked around. Ah yes, there it was. He approached it, in the knowledge that he would soon need to come up for air. As he approached, however, it darted away from him! "Strong current." Sonic thought, pursuing the jewel. It darted again. Frowning, Sonic followed its movements. It moved around in a loop, then darted again, then turned, then began to come towards him. It was strange for a current to be like that... Sonic stretched his hands out to grab the thing before it darted again, beginning to feel the pressure on his lungs. "If I don't get it this time, I'll go up for air." he thought. The emerald gathered speed as it approached, and it opened its mouth, revealing a hundred jagged steel teeth, like a bear trap. Sonic began to panic as he saw the other blue dots behind it, also coming towards him full-speed. Not emeralds.. Not emeralds at all.. Giant blue robots, like huge pirannahs.. He kicked his legs frantically, as one latched onto his arm, shooting pain right up to his shoulders. Another clamped onto his leg, and another ontoi his shoulder. They began to drag him deeper.. Sonic's lungs screamed or air, but he would get none.. deeper.. deeper.. deeper.. 

Robotnik, oblivious to Sonic, had planted robots patrollers everywhere after his take-over of Mobitropolis.. and that included the water. Robot patrollers, trained to drown.. to clamp onto their victims, and wait for them to turn blue. And while Sonic couldn't get any bluer, he was still in grave danger. The robots dragged him stomach-down all the way to the bottom of the lake. Or was it? No, it was just another marble construct. Man, this lake was deep! Sonic could feel himself blacking out. There were bubbles emerging all around him, but he could not get to them. The robots had somehow shut themselves down, becoming giant paperweights. There were at least five clamped to him, making it impossible to float, or swim upward. Suddenly, he stared at the bubbles with his lust for air, and came up with an idea crazy enough to work. The bubbles were rising.. he wasn't. Could he get assistance? He turned into a spin-dash.. it was extremely painful with the robots' iron grip. But.. yes! He began to stir up the rocks! The pieces of shattered marble which sheilded the caverns below. He couldn't do it for long.. he became extremely weak. He hadn't breathed for about five minutes now, and the pain was excrusiating. Was it enough power? As Sonic felt he was about to black out, the rocks began to stir and bubble.. and then, with a boom, the air in the sub-aquatic cavern broke loose, forming massive high-speed bubbles. Sonic began to rise.. up.. up.. up.. the pressure was dropping.. six minutes.. he would have to take a breath soon.. blacking out from water-filled lungs would be a relief, compared to the pain he was going through at the moment. He was so far gone, that he didn't realise when he broke the surface. The next instant he could remember was gasping deeply, as Tails Prower used a tree branch to wrench dead robots off his limbs. 

"You had quite an event going on under there!" said Tails, as Sonic brushed himself off, Now breathing normally. "I couldn't get the blue emerald back." he said, glumly. Tails shook his head. "It's at the bottom of the lake by now." he said. "I doubt Robotnik, or anyone else, will ever see it again." Sonic looked at the green emerald, turning it over and over in his hand. At last, Tails turned to him. "Sonic, what you did under there was really smart." he said. "You can't tell me that you're worthless.. you have a lot between your ears." Sonic smiled. "Thanks, lil' bro! Hey, we still have five emeralds to collect! You up to it?" Tails grinned. "You bet, Sonic!" And the two walked towards their next target, directed by the Chaos Emerald. 

"Silver, you have collected the next emerald?" "Not quite, sire. Working hard, we are. Chemical plant of Casino City under our control. Two emeralds, there are, nearby." "Casino City? They are heading that way, too.. I can cut them off." "They?" "Just two troublemakers. Don't worry yourself. Just find those emeralds." "Yes sir. Over." 

CHAPTER FIVE: 

It was late in the evening, before they reached Casino City. 

"Cool!" exclaimed Sonic. "Always wanted to see ol' Twinkle Park!" Tails looked around. "It's a little quiet, dontcha' think?" he asked. Sonic shrugged. "I guess the action doesn't start until nightfall.." "I hope you're right." replied Tails. "The signal's strong here!" said Sonic. "I think there might be more than one emerald nearby!" The two entered the city. Strange apparatus surrounded them. Thick blue liquid was being pumped through pipes, and buckets of some glowing chemical were being sorted by machines. "Eew.. this doesn't look much like a casino!" said Sonic. He turned around, but the door had shut behind them. "Great." he moaned. "It's a chemical plant." noted Tails. "I dunno what that stuff is.." Sonic began to follow the directions of his emerald. They walked for what seemed like hours, never getting out of the strange chemical plant. They didn't know that they were being monitored.. 

"I gotta rest." said Sonic, at last. He sat down on a pipe, which was pumping the blue liquid. There was a plaque on the side. He squinted at it. "Pipeway #657834.96T. Mega Mack." "Mega Mack?" asked Sonic. "Sounds more like a brand of truck, to me. His gaze shifted to a small office building, above ground, quite a distance away. There was a window, but it was semi-opaque. He could just see sillhoettes of the people inside. He gasped.. one of the shadows.. it was HIM! The spines were the right shape, and everything! No other hedgehog he knew of had spines like his - fused together into huge spikes. And the other shadow... egg-shaped, with a mostache. Robotnik. The Robotnik shadow was talking to the Sonic shadow.. then both disappeared. "Tails..." Sonic started. "Yeah?" asked Tails. There was an alarm. Lights began to flash. Containers began to open. Blue thick liquid began to spill out. "RUN!" shouted Sonic. 

The two took off, but the Mega Mack at their feet slowed them down considerably. The level rose.. it was now at their knees.. then their hips. "The room is filling up!" shouted Tails. "We have to get to higher ground!!" Sonic tripped over, and became immersed the the gunk. When he emerged, he shook his head violently. "OUCH! THIS STUFF STINGS!" he shouted. Tails helped him wipe the stuff off his face. "Look, an elevator!" announced Tails. The two waded through the Mega Mack towards the elevator. They leaped inside, and closed the door. Sonic used a rope to pulley them upwards. When they were at a safe level, they collapsed in a heap. "That was close!" sighed Sonic, catching his breath. The two glanced over at the river of Mega Mack. It filled the plant like a swimming pool. There was a moving platform above it.. it provided a safe exit from the chemical plant, and Sonic could see the city beyond it. "Come on, let's get outta here!" he said. He took two steps, when something emerged from the Mega Mack, blocking his path. Robotnik in his Egg-O-Matic.. he had a hose attached to it, one end in the bubbling chemical, and the other poking out from the front of the hovercraft. "ROBOTNIK!" Sonic exclaimed. "W..What are you going to do?" Robotnik grinned, and squirted a blast of Mega Mack towards him and Tails. 

"WATCH OUT SONIC!" Tails yelled, pushing the hedgehog out of the way, as the chemical whooshed past. Robotnik turned and persued them. Sonic suddenly turned to face him, curled into a spin-dash, and slammed into the Egg-O-Matic. Robotnik, startled, tried to aim the hose at Sonic again. But Sonic was too quick, and he slammed into the craft again. The hovercraft whizzed backward and hit a pipe. In turn, the pipe blew open, and immersed Robotnik in thick, blue goop. "Phew!" Sonic sighed. "Take that, Buttnik!" "Sonic, look!" came Tails' voice from behind him. He turned around, and Tails was fishing something out of the Mega Mack pool. A mouve Chaos Emerald. 

Back in the aquatic ruin, the sound of caterpillar-wheels could be heard. A shiny green 'grounder' robot carried something blue and slimy. The chaos emerald Sonic lost... The robot turned a corner, and saw another grounder approaching. The first robot held out it's hand, and spun the little digging cone, to get the other's attention. "Take this to Doctor Robotnik." it droned. The second robot approached him, and took the emerald. "Roger-Roger." it saluted. 

CHAPTER SIX: 

"This is more like it!" said Sonic, staring at the city around him. Night had fallen, and the city was in full swing. Neon surrounded them everywhere, and people scurried around, many of them drunken on alcohol or Mega Mack. Sonic and Tails wandered into the city to join the crowd. 

"Sir.. irritating fox and blue hedgehog escaped." announced Silver Sonic. Robotnik frowned. "Now they have three emeralds." he grumbled. We must beat them to the others. Leave the Casino City one. Hurry and find the others. My sensors indicate there is one in the mountains to the north, and one within our network of abandoned oil rigs. I will take that one, you head north." "Acknowledged." 

Sonic focused on the location of the next emerald. Sometimes he was approached by a townsperson, asking directions, or just wondering what two teenagers were doing out in a place like that at night. Casino City appeared to be a casino by night and a carnival by day. The people here must not have many worries at all.. just partying every single moment of their lives. "Things would be different if Robotnik invaded." Sonic muttered. He imagined the city filled with robots. Instead of gambling, they would be patrolling.. running Robotnik's machines. Spending every day serving their master. Sonic shook his head, and thought of something else. He looked beside him. Tails was still there, just looking around for the emerald. It wouldn't be easy to find.. everything around them was glowing. 

The two entered a casino. It was jam packed.. people scurrying about, sitting at slot machines, at poker tables.. It sure was busy. Sonic couldn't help but notice, though, one old Mobian who was shouting an awful lot. Taking Tails' hand, he walked over. It was a bat.. his brown fur beginning to turn grey. He was playing roulette. "AH! CRAP!" he shouted. Someone beside him, a craps dealer, frowned at him. "Not YOU, you idiot!" the bat shouted. He turned back to the game. "Are you going to place another bet?" asked the Roulette dealer. "Of COURSE!" shouted the bat. "What the hell have I got to lose?" He spat into a spittoon. "My boy Vlad just flew the coop, me wife left me, now I've lost everything I own but my free will in this blasted casino! All I got left is THIS!" He held up a light-blue Chaos Emerald. Sonic's heart leapt. "Touching story, pops." commented the dealer. "Now, are you gonna make a bet, or am I gonna hafta throw you out?" The bat frowned. "Put it on red." he said. "NO!" shouted Sonic. The bat spat, and turned to him. "Shove off, kid." he said. "Where'd you find that emerald?" demanded Sonic. "You mean THIS hunk of junk?" asked the bat. "It fell outta the sky, into my garbage can! Why? It yours?" Sonic nodded. The bat snickered. "Tell you what, kid. If this thing wins me a million bucks, I'll buy you another little shiny thing." he said. "Please, mister!" Tails butted in. "If you don't give us that emerald, Robotnik's gonna invade this city and TAKE it! Then he'll turn YOU into a mindless robot!" The bat laughed. "Nice fairy tale, kid! You have some imagination! Now, shove off.. daddy needs a new pair of shoes!" Sonic frowned. "I'm warning you!" he said. "Oh yeah?" asked the old bat. "What're YOU gonna do about it?" Sonic grinned, and used his lightning-quick speed to snatch the emerald off him. "That!" he shouted. "Come on, Tails!" "HEY!!!" screamed the bat. "STOP, THEIF!!" Sonic and Tails fled the casino, and dived into the shadows. They looked back. No police... they were safe. Sonic laughed. "Come on, Tails! We gotta get ourselves another three emeralds!" He stared down at the three he already had, briefly wondering what had become of the dark blue one... 

The grounder droid approached the boundry of Robotropolis. Another robot intercepted it. Robotnik called it a Special Weapons And Tactics Robot (or SWAT-bot).. highly experimental. "State your business here." the SWAT droned. The grounder held up the dark blue emerald. "A prize for Doctor Robotnik." it said. The SWAT-bot took it, and returned to Robotropolis. 

Sonic and Tails hiked all night, and reached the mountains by morning. They stared at the peaks. "Feel like some mountain climbing, Tails?" Sonic asked. Tails spun his tails, and hovered above the ground. "I'm not the one who'll be doing the climbing!" he said. Sonic smirked. "Well, the emeralds are telling me to go up, so I guess I'll have to. C'mon!" The two began scaling the mountain. They tried to keep on the most horizontal path, but sometimes they had to climb. Suddenly, the ground began to shake. "Whoa.. an earthquake!" Sonic said. "This place is unstable!" said Tails. "There are active volcanos around!" "NOW you tell me!" Sonic shouted, as the ground broke away, and they were tossed into the gap... 

CHAPTER SEVEN: 

Sonic and Tails slowly opened their eyes. They were in a cavern. Sonic checked himself.. he was unhurt. How about Tails? He checked.. the fox seemed alright. The two got up and looked around. They were definately underground. They could see the hole above them. "Gosh.. it's hot in here!" Tails said, wiping his forehead. Sonic looked to the left of him, and saw a river of boiling lava flowing past. "I think I know why." he said. "Sonic, look!" shouted Tails. An orange Chaos Emerald, just visible, was flowing with the current. "Ah! Catch it!" shouted Sonic, running after it. The ground began to shake again. "SHIVERS!" shouted Sonic, as an avalanche blocked his path. "Now what?" Tails shrugged. "We find a detour, I guess!" Sonic nodded. "We'll go around, and see if we can find the river again." He saw a slight gap in the rocks beside him. "Tails, help me move these rocks." he said. The fox walked over, and pulled on the rocks. They suddenly broke away. The two fell back, regained their senses, and looked over the ledge which had now been created. They gasped. A giant cavern.. robots covered the ground. It appeared to be some sort of mine. It was obviously Robotnik's doing. "What are they digging for?" asked Tails. Sonic shrugged. "I heard something about Robotnik mining for more emeralds. Maybe this is one of the mines!" Tails noticed a river of lava flowing through the mine.. and an orange glow moving through it. "Looks like we're gonna hafta go through it.." he muttered. Sonic nodded. 

As the hedgehog and fox looked for a way into the mine, something was watching them from the shadows. Two red points of light were just visible. "Get, the emerald, I will." came a voice. "Along with other three." Then the figure vanished. 

A giant robot centipede guarded the entrance to the mine. Sonic and Tails approached it. "Biological life-forms!" shouted the robot. "What is your business here?" "Uh.. Doctor Robotnik hired us to..." started Sonic. Tails finished it off for him. "There's a gas leak.. we have to fix it.." The robot stared at them, as if scanning them. Then suddenly, it pulled back. "Oh, Silver Sonic, sir!" it said. "I apologise. Pass through please." Sonic looked puzzled. "Uh.. thankyou!" he said. The two entered the mine. "Nice paint job, sir!" the robot called after him. "Yeah, you too.." Sonic called back. "C'mon, Tails, we gotta find that emerald!" The robot centipede went back to its guard duty. Another robot approached. "Clearance." it requested. The centipede looked up at him. "You are a cheap imitation." it noted. "The real Silver Sonic has already been cleared to enter." Silver Sonic leaned over the robot, menacingly. "Cheap?" he asked. He shoved a clamp into the centipede's mouth, grabbed its tail, and shoved it ten feet down its throat. "ERROR! ERROR!" shouted the squirming robot. Silver stepped into the mine, and called over a robot fire-fly that was patrolling. "Your orders, sir?" the robot asked. "Intruder in the mine." said Silver, matter-of-factly. "Blue hedgehog. Must be crushed. Killed. Destroyed. Eliminated. Terminated. Eradicated. Removed. Understand?" The robot bug flashed its light in agreeance, and buzzed after the duo. 

"Where is it?" asked Sonic. "These emeralds are getting heavy.. I wish I had pockets!" "Sonic.. listen.." said Tails. There was a slight humming sound. "Where's that coming from?" Sonic asked. Tails shrugged. "I dunno. Hope it's machinary, and not robots!" Unfortunately, the fox wasn't right. Suddenly, swarms of lights came into view. Each one flashing hypnotically. A thousand droning robot voices could be heard.. "PRIORITY-ONE HEDGEHOG!" they shouted. "CRUSH! KILL! DESTROY! ELIMINATE! TERMINATE! ERADICATE! REMOVE!" Sonic's eyes bulged. "By the sound of that, I don't think they want to buzz around our heads and crash our picnic!" he said. "LET'S GET OUTTA HERE!" The two began to run, but tripped over the piles of rocks. They tumbled through the mine into a ditch. The robots persued. "We're gonna need a LOT of Mortein!" Tails shouted. One of the fireflies out in front stopped in front of them, and hovered. "Uhm... hello.." said Sonic. The robot simply remained in the air. Then, suddenly, it began glowing, and zapped the hedgehog with a bolt of electricity! "OUCH!" shouted Sonic. "Fair enough.. two can play at that game!" He picked up a large rock, and pelted it at the robot. There was a satisfying crash as the thing was crushed between a rock and a hard place. "Crush kill and destroy THAT!" said Sonic, grinning. "Uh oh, Sonic.. you're gonna need a few more rocks!" said Tails, pointing. The rest of the bug swarm appeared over the hill. "Aw crap!" shouted Sonic. "C'mon!" "NOT SO FAST.." came a sudden electronic voice. The two turned around, and a machine was behind them... it looked kind of like Robotnik's Egg-O-Matic, but it was obviously used for digging, as it had two very sharp digging cones attached. Inside sat a robot. Sonic gasped, as he recognised it.. as HIMSELF! "Wh..who are YOU?" Sonic stammered. The robot simply let out a horrifying screech, which could sound like a laugh if you had a really good imagination. "Self will destroy you." it droned. 

The machine suddenly roared towards the two. Startled, they ran in different directions. Sonic gasped as he was zapped by something. The robot bugs.. they were everywhere! They were flying all around the place, letting out bursts of electricity in every direction! And the strange Sonic-lookalike was turning around for another charge! The machine blasted off, and Sonic leaped at the last minute, tumbling into the ditch that Tails was in. The robot in the machine hit the wall with incredible force, and caused a hole in the rock. But it wasn't empty. Immediately, tonnes of boiling lava poured out from behind it, and drowned the machine, and most of the robot bugs. The rest of the robots fled. Sonic pulled Tails up to higher ground, and the lava rushed past. "And that is that!" said Sonic, panting. He noticed on the ground two emeralds.. an orange and a red, the latter had fallen from the downed digging machine. Sonic slipped down, and picked them up. That made five. "Now.. just one more to go!" said Tails. "Yup.." replied Sonic. "We just have to find a way outta this mine!" 

As they left, somehing crawled out of the lava. A damaged hedgehog robot. He turned on his intercom. "Sir.. Silver. I am damaged." it said. Robotnik's voice was on the other end. "Return to Robotropolis." he said. "Fix yourself up, and prepare the Death Egg. It will launch before nightfall." 

CHAPTER EIGHT: 

Sonic and Tails approached the seaside. "Uh oh!" exclaimed Tails. "The emerald fell in the sea?" Sonic looked off the coast. He could see some machinary out at sea, and a bridge leading to it. "I bet it's there!" said Sonic, pointing. "C'mon!" They began to walk across the bridge. As they went, the water beneath them started to change colour.. it was turning black. "What th..." began Sonic, "What's that? An oil spill?" Tails looked into the thick black water. "It's more than that!" he replied "It's practically an oil _ocean_!" Sonic's attention turned to the machinary. It was massive. It was some kind of oil rig. It seemed to be abandoned, and had carelessly dumped its load of now un-needed oil into the water. He squinted, and thought he could see an imprint of Robotnik's face on the side. "Robotnik?" Sonic asked "What does _he_ want with an oil rig?" Tails shrugged. "Princess Sally said that he was using petroleum to run the Death Egg, before he started using emeralds instead! Maybe this is where he was getting the stuff from." Sonic nodded. "That would explain why old fatso would just dump it all in the ocean. Oh well, let's find this emerald!" 

It turned out that the rig wasn't really abandoned, after all. A few robots were there, apparently on the same mission that Sonic and Tails were on.. finding the last Chaos Emerald. There were two kinds of robot, here.. searching the ground were a bunch of octopus droids, and flying through the air were things that looked like sea-horses. The latter were the most annoying.. the more mobile ones. Sonic and Tails had to be very careful not to fall into the thick oil-water under them! Suddenly, there it was.. the seventh Chaos Emerald.. glowing grey, floating in a barrell of oil. "YES!" yelled Sonic. "We have them all!" He began to run towards the emerald, but was blocked off by Robotnik, emerging from the shadows. Sonic was so shocked he almost fell over! Robotnik chuckled. "Oh, I'm sorry, hedgehog!" he snarled. "Were you looking for the emerald?" Sonic took a step back, frowning. "You'll never win, Robotnik." he said. "We have the advantage. We have six emeralds, and you have none!" Robotnik shook his head. "No.. I'm sorry.. six plus zero equals six.. There are SEVEN emeralds." He held up a dark blue Chaos Emerald. Sonic gasped hoarsely. "You.. got it BACK?" he asked. Robotnik stared at the emerald. "A gift. Sent over to me by my loyal robots. And I can still launch the Death Egg with one emerald, you know." he grinned. "That's the thing about these... they are so powerful, I only need one!" Sonic jumped towards him, but the Egg-O-Matic hovered out of the way. Sonic landed head-first into the pile of oil barrels. Robotnik obviously hadn't seen the grey emerald sitting there, so Sonic snatched it up quickly. By the time he turned to face his enemy again, the bald megolomaniac had disappeared, rocketing in the direction of Robotropolis. Tails had given chase, but realised it was futile, and was running back to him. Sonic sighed. "We were so close." he moaned. "Now it's... over. Robotnik won." Tails frowned. "Don't give up your confidence now, Sonic!" he said. "Why not?" asked Sonic. "It's all over!" "Not true!" replied Tails, a glint in his eye. "Robotnik only has one emerald.. that Death Egg is gonna be pretty weak!" Sonic looked up at him. "Hey, you're right, little bro!" he said, confidence returning. "I'm not gonna let Robotnik win! That egg is gonna crack!" He grabbed Tails' hand, and roared off with Super Sonic speed. 

"Silver, do you read?" asked Robotnik. "Yes sir." came the drone reply. Robotnik pressed a few buttons on his console. "I am teleporting the emerald to you, now." he said. There was a long pause. "Recieved, sir." "Good. Launch the Egg. NOW!" "Now? What about master?" "Forget about me, for the time being. You know how to pilot the Egg. Do it now! I will take the Wing Fortress, and join up with you later." "But sir..." "Silver, I want to see my Death Egg launched. You will obey my orders, and launch it NOW!" "Acknowledged." "Ivo out." 

CHAPTER NINE: 

Sonic and Tails, after taking three hours at Sonic's top speed to return, realised they would have to pass through Robotropolis to return to Knothole. Sonic was panting hard. "I've... never.. run.. so.. hard.. in.. my.. life.." he said, gasping for breath. Tails looked into the city. Robots were patrolling. "Won't be easy to get through.. Buttnik's got every robot in the city patrolling!" Sonic frowned. "Geez I hate this Metropolis." he muttered. The two began to stalk through the city. They hid behind a pile of barrels as a robot stomped by. "What's that?" whispered Sonic. The robot was shaped like a man, and had 'SWAT' written across its chest. Tails shrugged. A shadow draped over them. "Priority-ten hedgehog" came a droning voice. Sonic turned. "Aw, come on! Priority _ten_? What's more dangerous than me?" He turned into a spin-dash, and slammed into the robot, knocking it over. An alarm went off throughout the city. "Our cover's been sprung, Tails!" Sonic shouted, running off. 

Robots everywhere began chasing them. A figure stepped out of the shadows and smiled.. the shape of a human, but made out of metal. SWAT Commander Packbell didn't have his skin yet, he was still incomplete. But he had been on-line for a while, now.. His robotic face grinned. "Cut them off, SWATs. Do not let them escape." 

Sonic and Tails turned a corner, and ran into a massive group of the robots. Their red eyes glared at them evilly. "Priority-ten hedgehog and priority-eleven fox." they droned. "You are under arrest." Before the two could turn around, more robots appeared behind them, and put shackles on their arms. "NO!" Sonic protested. Tails was squirming beside him. "You will be taken to the dungeons." one of the robots said. "There is no escape." They were dragged away. 

"Pssst.. Tails.." Sonic whispered. Tails was being dragged beside him, down the long dungeon hallway. The little fox looked up at him. "We're gonna make a break for it." said Sonic. "On the count of three, I'll curl over, and throw this robot off me. The one carrying you will let go to attack me. When he does, you grab the gun off my robot, and shoot it, along with these others. Got it?" Tails nodded, and looked up at their captors, hoping they hadn't heard the plan. They apparently didn't. "Okay.. 1.. 2.. 3!" The two jumped into action. The plan went without a hitch, and five minutes later found them running down the hallway, as an ear-piercing alarm went off. They could hear the sound of more SWATs approaching. They tried to remember where they had come from, but had apparently made a wrong turn, because they found themselves in the main chamber of the building. Pools of molten metal surrounded the area, the steam turning props and generating electricity. And, in the center of the room was a huge machine. A giant steel thing, the bottom had a chamber encased in glass. Sonic knew, to his horror, that he was staring for the first time at the robotizer. It was just as horrible as expected.. Sonic could almost hear the screams of a million Mobians, as they lost their free-will, and their bodies turned to metal. "Sonic.. let's GO!" shouted Tails. "Uh.. right.." replied Sonic, forcing himself to tear away from the sight. They fled the building, and ran from Robotropolis. 

Sally Acorn was surprised and shocked to see two familiar figures entering Knothole village. "You two!" she shouted, running over. "You're Sonic and Miles, right? Hell, we've noted you down as missing persons! Where the heck did you run off to for the last few days?" Sonic sighed. "We haven't been doing much in particular." he replied. "Just saving Mobius from a fate worse than death." he showed her the six Chaos Emeralds. She gasped. "You've got them all?? We were only just about to send out a search party for them!" Sonic shook his head. "Not all of them.. only six. Robotnik ran off with one. He can still launch the Death Egg." Sally looked at the ground, sadly. "We heard a horrible noise just a couple of hours ago." she said. "We hoped it wasn't the Egg launching... I guess it was." "There's still hope!" insisted Tails. "It's weak, because it only has one emerald to power it!" "We just need a way of getting to it." added Sonic. Sally heard a noise, and turned her head. Sonic and Tails did the same. A giant object was flying overhead. Not a plane.. a battleship. The Wing Fortress. It cast a shadow over Knothole. Sally frowned, and nodded. "Follow me." she said. 

CHAPTER TEN: 

"Guys, this is the Tornado." Sally said, removing the tarpolan, and revealing a small bi-plane. Tails grinned. He adored flying things, and this was love at first sight. "It's all yours, if you want it." Sally added. "It did us well in the Great War." Tails jumped in, and admired the controls. "There's only one problem... it only has room for one." Sonic cringed. "I can't drive a plane.." he said. "I CAN! I CAN!" shouted Tails. "Can't let Tails go on his own!" said Sally. "That's OK.." replied Sonic. "I can ride on the wing." Tails and Sally looked at him. "What?" asked Sonic. "I can!" 

"Uh, try and keep her steady, little bro!" said Sonic, nervously, trying to keep balanced on the wing of the Tornado. Tails was behind the wheel. "That's as steady as she goes, Sonic!" he replied. "You'll be fine!" As they flew, an object came into view. The Wing Fortress. "See if we can land this thing on the wing." said Sonic. 

"Doctor.. a small bi-plane is approaching." said a short robot. Robotnik turned away from the controls. "Is there a hedgehog on it?" he asked. "Yessir.. a blue hedgehog." replied the robot. "Blast." uttered Robotnik, under his breath. He pressed a button on his intercom. "Cluckers. Into attack position. Full-scale attack on the intruding aircraft." Immediately, all over the Wing Fortress, Clucker Fighters were raised, and turned towards the Tornado. "Uh oh, Tails.. bad news!" said Sonic. Tails tried to duck out of the way, but a laser beam hit the propellor. The engine began to cough. "That's not good!" shouted Tails. "We're going down!" Sonic was shocked, and lost his balance. As the bi-plane began to lose control, Sonic fell off the wing, and into the air. 

THUMP! Sonic landed on something hard and cold. He could hear propellors. He looked up, and realised he had fallen on-board the Wing Fortress. He looked off the edge.. he could see the Tornado regaining control, and gliding back to Knothole. He sighed. "Ok.. you're on your own now." Sonic told himself. "You can do this.." He got up, and, fighting the wind resistance, walked towards the cockpit. He had to avoid several Clucker Fighters on the way. Eventually, he got to a door, swung it open, and stepped inside. Aah.. that was better. He could hear the hum of machinary from within the craft. He looked around, and saw a corridor leading to the front of the ship. He began to walk towards it, when suddenly, a hatch opened under him! He began to fall.. 

Sonic could see the surface of Mobius under him. Thinking quickly, he reached out and grabbed at the plates on the side of the ship. They tore a little under the force, but at least he wasn't falling any more. He began to crawl back towards the hole he fell from. But suddenly, the plates dislodged, and came off! He began spinning through the air, and fell into a hole in the side of the ship. He was churned around for several minutes, then blown out the top! Screaming, he grabbed onto a propellor, and was safe again. When his heart stopped beating so hard, he climbed down to the roof of the Fortress. "Okay, that plan didn't work." he mumbled. He began to crawl along the top of the ship, until he found a way inside. He fell through a hole into a small room. Looking up, he could see someone standing before him, chuckling. Robotnik! Sonic jumped up into battle position and hurled himself towards the fat doctor.. only to be repelled by an invisible force shield. "You just don't give up, do you, hedgehog!" Robotnik boomed. "You've come so far, but you STILL don't see.. it's ALL OVER, Sonic. I have WON. The Egg was launched, I'm on my way to it, right now! Mobius is mine!" He leaned right over towards the hedgehog. "Feeling a little sorry?" he asked. "Wishing that little accident never happened? When you and that stupid scientist gave birth to the scourge of Mobius?" Sonic just frowned. Robotnik smiled. "I'm so sorry things couldn't turn out well between us." he said, pressing a button on a console. "Well, TTFN, Sonic! I have a planet to conquor!" He jumped into an elevator, and hovered away. Sonic could hear something powering-up above him. Some kind of laser weapon! It was homing in on him.. setting up for the kill.. and there was no escape.. 

The instant it was about to fire, the weapon de-activated. Sonic, surprised, looked up to see the cause. Tails! He was back! "Hey, Sonic! Got the Tornado fixed, just in time!" he said. "Come on! The sheild is down!" Sonic grinned, and ran up to the little fox. "Where'd I be without you?" he asked. "Sitting on a cloud, playing a harp, probably!" replied Tails. "Come on!" 

The Tornado flew at full speed... Robotnik was in some kind of jet rocket up ahead. "It's geting kinda hard to breathe!" said Sonic. "We're getting close to leaving the atmosphere!" Tails replied. "The Death Egg's in orbit! This plane can't fly if there's no air.." "Robotnik's rocket can." replied Sonic. "Can you get me closer to it?" "I'll try." The plane gradually approached the rocket. They could hear the tremendous boom, as the Wing Fortress crashed, with nobody piloting it. "One.. two.. THREE!" Sonic shouted, kicking off from the wing of the plane. He reached out, and grabbed the side of Robotnik's rocket. He could hear Tails shouting "Good luck!", but he was more focused on the sight up ahead.. the massive orb hovering above Mobius. It had the likeness of Robotnik's own snarling face on the side. Enter: The Death Egg. 

CHAPTER ELEVEN: 

Sonic jumped off the rocket as soon as it entered port in the Death Egg. He rolled along the steel floor a bit, then stopped. There was a thin window, showing the view out into space. There were more stars than he thought possible. His attention turned to the coridor ahead of him. What kinds of horrors would await him ahead? He set his teeth, and walked down it. He wasn't surprised when he heard Robotnik's voice ring out on the speakers. The first few words he said are un-neccissary to put into writing. "HOW DID YOU GET HERE, RODENT??" he demanded. "I'M GOING TO FINISH YOU ONCE AND FOR ALL!! You'll regret the day you crossed Ivo Robotnik." A door closed behind Sonic, and the noise made him jump. A figure stepped into the open. Sonic gasped.. it was the robot which looked like him. He too ka step back. Who.. ARE you?" asked Sonic. The robot didn't answer. Instead, Robotnik's voice rang out. "His name is Silver Sonic." he said. "He is your duplicate. I fashioned him from YOU, Sonic." Sonic frowned. He didn't like this robot. It let out a screech, and hurled itself towards him. Sonic ducked out of the way just in time. "It's futile, Sonic!" shouted Robotnik. Silver turned into a spin-dash, and charged. Sonic jumped over the razor ball. But Silver, while he was spinning, shot spikes at him. One hit Sonic in the shoulder, and he fell over. Silver turned around, and glared at him. "Die, you will." he droned. "Die horribly and slowly." Sonic, cringing in pain, backed up against the window. He got a brainstorm. Silver turned into a ball again, and set up to charge. Sonic climbed up onto the windowsill. Silver charged, and Sonic jumped. Silver slammed against the window, cracking it. "I don't like clones!" shouted Sonic, charging at Silver. Silver was taken off-guard, and Sonic spun like a buzz-saw into his face. The robot flew back and hit the window, this time shattering it. Silver Sonic exited the Death Egg for the last time. The force of the impact tore his robotic arm off, and he hurdled through space, as gravity slowly took effect, and he began to re-enter Mobius' atmosphere. 

A lone SWAT-bot patrolled the front gate of Robotropolis. It marched back and forth. There was a sound above it.. a 'whooshing' sound, which became more high-pitched every second. The SWAT-bot looked up. It couldn't see anything. No, wait.. there was something.. a red dot. The SWAT scanned, to try and figure out what it was. It was made of metal.. and it was travelling at 700 km/h. The robot took a step back. It was heading straight for it! It turned and began to run, but it was suddenly struck by the falling thing. There was an ear-piercing bang, and nothing was left except a crater, and a mangled pile of twisted metal. The SWAT-bot's eyes flickered on, slowly. "Good evening, Silver Sonic. You have clearance." 

"Give up, Robotnik!" Sonic shouted. "Never, Hedgehog!" Robotnik shouted back at him. Sonic ran down the next corridor. "I have one more trick up my sleeve!" shouted Robotnik. Sonic came to another room.. a HUGE room. There was something on the side wall.. a machine. It was glowing blue. Sonic squinted, and could see what was inside. The blue Chaos Emerald, glowing brilliantly. Sonic found it hard to believe that this alone was powering the Death Egg. There was a bump, and the room shook. Then there was another bump. Then another. "Uh oh.." thought Sonic. Something came into view. Robotnik. But it was a HUGE Robotnik. A _robot_ Robotnik. Sonic could hear the mad scientist chuckling inside the thing, as it raised its arm, and launched it at the hedgehog. Sonic could see the three sharp spikes on the hand. He ducked out of the way, and the arm hit the wall. Then it spun around, and came back! It was harder to avoid, this time. Then, Robotnik launched three bombs at him! They exploded on impact with the ground, and Sonic was rolling around uncontrollably. When he opened his eyes, he couldn't see the massive robot anywhere. "Where'd it go?" he asked himself. He could see a spotlight on the ground, in the shape of a crossheir. He looked up. The robot was hovering above him! He immediately ran to the other side of the room at full speed, as the robot fell to crush him. Then it regained its compsure, and launched its arms at him again! He suddenly found himself facing the emerald chamber, and had an idea. The bombs were launched again, and Sonic barely escaped them, this time. Then Robotnik launched the robot again. Just as Sonic hoped. He ran around, luring the crossheir towards him. The floating robot followed. He ran right up to the emerald chamber, and stood there. The crossheir turned red, and then disappeared. Sonic immediately turned into a spin-dash, and bolted to the other side of the room. He heard the satisfying crash, and resulting explosion that he had hoped for. The robot lay sprawled on the ground, the emerald case crushed under its weight. The seventh Chaos Emearald rolled to a gentle stop at Sonic's feet. Then he felt the Death Egg combusting, and falling, it's power source used up. A hole was blasted in the side, and Sonic was sucked out. The Death Egg was already inside the atmosphere, and falling quickly. And so was Sonic. He closed his eyes, and waited for the inevidable. 

Thump. 

Sonic opened his eyes again, and saw Tails. Jumping up, he realised he was on the wing of the Tornado. "Holy crap, Tails!" Sonic said. "That was one heck of a nice catch!" Tails grinned. "You've done well, Sonic." he said. "Now.. let's go home." 

EPILOGUE: 

Sonic held out his hands. The seven Chaos Emeralds. The other figure before him took them and admired them. "They are indeed precious." he said. He was a weasil.. an elder of the secret village. "Will you look after them?" asked Sally. "Indeed." replied the weasil. "They are truly precious stones. We will lock them away in this cave." "If we ever need them, we'll send either Sonic or Tails to get them." said Sally. "They're the only ones who can have access. After all, they are the ones who rescued them!" Sonic and Tails blushed. They had decided to hide the emeralds in this secret village.. a native village of weasils.. in order to keep them away from Robotnik forever. It was the only safe way. Robotnik had survived the crash, according to reports. He was hiding out on some mystical island. Robotropolis was not open for attack, however.. there was someone else running it for now. They said there was someone named Packbell, controlling the SWAT-bots and guarding the city like a hawk.. awaiting Robotnik's inevidable return. 

*** 

"Sonic.. you awake?" asked Tails. Sonic shook his head. "Oh, sorry Tails." he said. "Just remembering the past. Hey, we better get back to Knothole before nightfall.. they'll be thinking we got killed!" "That'll never happen!" replied Tails. "We make a great team!" 

"Hey, you said it, little bro." 

THE END 

SERIES TWO CHRONOLOGY:   
1. The New Girl   
2. Dragon the Chain   
3. Never Say Nemesis   
4. When a Hedgehog Meets a Fox   
5. Just Your Imagination   
6. Shred   
7. The Death Machine   
8. Metal Made Flesh   
9. Power Corrupts   
10. Halfway Across the Galaxy   
11. Two For One   
12. Prologue to an Adventure   
13. Adventure

   [1]: http://www.stas.net/1/shax/Virtualden.html
   [2]: mailto:Shaxr@angelfire.com



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